Toe curling, that's the only description

This acme of pulchritude is Marie Anner Isler Beguin, a French Green MEP.

She is of course very excited about the normal stuff that you would expect, climate change, GMO's, chemicals and so on.

But none of this explains or excuses this that came through the mail this morning.

The 28th January itself being a very odd time to send a New Year card, but what it says is just drippingly awful. And I badly translate

Marie Anner Isler Beguin and her team
Wish the chilling of global warming,
a thaw in diplomatic relations,
a cooling of hot spirits,
the warming of the human and intercommunal relations,
and the reduction of the carbon footprint

Oh my giddy aunt, who writes this stuff, and why are your taxes going into producing it?

Quote of the day

From the "DRAFT REPORT on non-discrimination based on gender and inter-generational solidarity", to be voted upon next week in the Parliament,

As soon as women and men have to chose between a formal job, commonly known as a ‘professional career’ and non-gainful employment, commonly known as ‘nurturing human resources and intergenerational solidarity’,

Commonly known as what? What language do you think these people speak at home?

What country am I in?

Well given that my postal address is Brussels, my office address is Brussels and all the cars round here have BE on their number plate an educated guess would suggest that I indeed was in Belgium.

Or so I thought. So imagine my suprise when I discovered the reason why a conference call that I was trying to have with the UK wasn't working.

I spoke to the telephone tech people in the building and they scratched their collective brain filled bonces for an hour or so until they worked out the problem.

I am in Luxembourg. Well that is all the systems in the Parliament are based in Luxembourg.

Which explains that if you find me lurking on your blog, the IP is a Luxembourg one, rather than a Belgium one.

Photo Credit

Ah... difficult one

Not what treh Commiossion ordered, and I fear a deep embarrasment for Frau Merkle,

Germany's constitutional court has been handed a second complaint over the EU's Lisbon Treaty with the potential to delay the country's final ratification
of the document for several months.

And the complaint seems pretty fair to me,

They argue that a prognosis on European integration given by the country's constitutional court in a 1993 judgement on the Maastricht Treaty - which paved the way to the euro - has turned out to be false.

Instead, EU integration has been characterised by "continuous breaches of the stability pact, a presumptuous over-stepping of power by the European Commission, unaccountable leadership and dissolution of the separation of powers,"

What is he talking about?

Ari Vatanen is a personable chap a surprisingly humble for a man of his distinctions. Formerly World Rally Driving Champion inumerable times and MEP. Having first been elected for his native Finland, last time round he was elected for a French constituency. Here he is talking about on the Parliaments new European Elections 2009 website,

Life is all about bridge building, and now I have a slightly bigger hammer in my hand.

Sorry Ari, you are going to have to run that one past me again.

Hairy Moneyball and free speech

Meet Mary Honeyball, Labour MEP for London and blogger. (To be fair to her she allows comments and sometimes responds to them). She posted a constituent email about the TICAP - now Ind/Dem conference on prohibition.

Her own comments were rude and dismissive, even suggesting that her correspondent was paid.

This diatribe comes to you courtesy of a Ms Brenda Orsler, a delegate to the
conference against prohibition who apparently paid to attend out of her own
resources.

As far as I can make out, it is a pro-smoking event. What is even more
interesting is that has been sponsored by the appalling Godfrey Bloom, UKIP MEP.

And then her comments box caught fire, go take a look, it is quite fun.

Icelandic action. Minister resigns

Well that pretty well goes to the heart of the matter,

Bjorgvin Sigurdsson, the Icelandic Minister of Commerce has stepped down. The minister has decided to take responsibility for his part of the economic and political turmoil now enveloping Iceland, his last act as a minister was to fire the head of the Icelandic financial supervisory authority.
As he introduced this decision to the FSA chairman, Jon Sigurdsson, the chairman himself decided to resign. Bjorgvin announced his decision in letter sent to the Prime Minister of Iceland, Geir H. Haarde, this morning.

Oooo, here's a clever new gadget

Bloggingportal.eu has just been launched as a one stop web aggregator of EU related blogs. It has been set up by Jon Worth and Stefan Happer of Politik Portal withy assistance from elsewhere.

What’s the idea? Essentially we aggregate the content of 278 blogs about the EU in all European languages and all that content is available on the ‘Posts‘ page of the site. But that’s no good in itself - we want the good content to gain pride of place on the site. So a team of diligent editors flags up this good content, and this appears as the ‘Editors’ Picks’ on the homepage of the site.

Given its provenance one might conclude that it will be largely a supportive portal, but Mr Worth suggests that some balance will appear.

There is no large Brussels media business backing us, and we’re not in any way tied to any sponsors because, well, we don’t have any.

We’re also not just ‘pro-EU’ - we won’t include posts if you just think the EU is some sort of conspiracy but we welcome a critical perspective.

But Jon, I don't think that the EU is some sort of conspiracy, I know it is...

Velo de France

Next to the Parliament this afternoon

So why would anybody actually want to join the Euro?

From today's Telegraph,

Even the cleverest economist would find it impossible to come up with the right interest rate for Austria, where unemployment is only three per cent, and Spain, where it exceeds 12 per cent. How can Greece, where the recession is especially severe put up with the same interest rate as Holland, where the economy is far stronger?

The most logical option would be for Greece and Spain to leave the euro. If the situation continues to worsen, their electorates may ultimately demand nothing less.
The possibility of the euro breaking up under the strain of the present recession is taken seriously by the financial markets. The Maastricht treaty, which established the single currency in 1999, contains no legal route for a country to leave the euro. In practice, however, there would be no way of stopping a government from choosing this course.

But the costs imposed on any country leaving the euro would be overwhelming. The
markets would take fright and demand a far higher premium for holding the
government's debts.

Yet if the recession deepens, some European leaders could face this terrible conundrum. They can expect no sympathy from their electorates. By joining the euro, they chose to bind themselves in a straitjacket of their own design.

Does this get the European Parliament's 2009 Sycophancy Prize?

Yes it is that time again when journalists from around the Continent are convinced of the need to right magnificent copy about how wonderful the Parliament is on the promise of 5,000 euro and a bauble to put on their mantleshelf.

But this year an early favourite must be the Parliament's own internal online newskletter, Newshound by this quite magnificent piece of drivel,

Meeting the Euro in Strasbourg
A Euro perfume was in the air last week at the first session of 2009. Have you ever smelled the Euro? It carries the sweet smell of success; it is the buoy that now protects a Europe deep into a financial and economic crisis. The Euro is a European baby born naturally with a struggle ten years ago - a strong symbol of Europe which, among others, helps keep the European inflation rate at around 2%. The young Euro is behaving well!

But that was not a foregone conclusion. Born amid huge scepticism but regarded as a necessity, its success today is quite solid. A European currency that can remain stable and come second in the world’s currency league is no mean feat! And the Euro has sold well over the past decade. Ten countries adopted it at the outset, now there are 16 of them!

Could it be that even the British are wavering? At any rate Richard Corbett from the PSE noted at his press conference on Tuesday, 13 January:
"Perhaps against all odds, Britain is talking about joining the Euro. Some of our politicians have started to draw attention to the economic cost of being outside the eurozone."

He went on to explain the disadvantage of the current situation for Britain. "Firstly, we lose on the currency conversions and on the hedging costs (insurance taken against radical exchange rate variations) in our commercial exchanges. Secondly, we don't attract foreign non-EU companies to establish in the UK as we are not located in the main EU currency zone."
His conclusion: "Provided the economics are right, I believe we should join the
euro."

That explains why everyone was talking about the Euro in the corridors of the EP last week. They celebrated its birthday with great pomp and circumstance at a plenary sitting in the presence of its many parents; then there was a seminar on its role in the current economic and financial crisis, duly attended by your humble Newshound reporter who did not entirely understand the learned words of the specialist press about market trends.

Finally, on Tuesday evening, President Pöttering invited the Euro’s family to a dinner held at the renowned Strasbourg restaurant the Palais des Rohan. Alas, despite my
best efforts to convince the organisers of my love for the Euro and my relationship with it, I was not invited to sample the Alsatian specialities under silver cloches.

As a consolation, I met the Euro in the canteen, on my place mat, on posters, at the European Central Bank exhibition and at the exhibition by a French university lecturer on the cultural game she has created, in which the Euro is the hero.

So I have to say, despite the rather gloomy mood engendered by the financial crisis and the gas and Gaza crises, happy birthday and, as a schoolboy might conclude his essay, long live the Euro!

Give the guy a banana.

Up and down and all around

Fascinating study reported on AP where there seems to have been some warming in Antartica, but the picture is very varied, and nobody seems confident to pin the blame on man,

The researchers used satellite data and mathematical formulas to fill in missing
information. That made outside scientists queasy about making large conclusions
with such sparse information.

"This looks like a pretty good analysis, but I have to say I remain somewhat skeptical," Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said in an e-mail. "It is hard to make data where none exist."
Shindell said it was more comprehensive than past studies and jibed with computer models.

The research found that since 1957, the annual temperature for the entire continent of Antarctica has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, but still is 50 degrees below zero. West Antarctica, which is about 20 degrees warmer than the east, has warmed nearly twice as fast, said study lead author Eric Steig of the University of Washington. East Antarctica, which scientists had long thought to be cooling, is warming slightly when yearly averages are looked at over the past 50 years, said Steig.

However, autumn temperatures in east Antarctica are cooling over the long term. And east Antarctica from the late 1970s through the 1990s, cooled slightly, Steig said.
Some researchers skeptical about the magnitude of global warming overall said that the new study didn't match their measurements from satellites and that there appears to be no warming in Antarctica since 1980.

"It overstates what they have obtained from their analysis," said Roger Pielke Sr., a senior research scientist at the University of Colorado. Steig said a different and independent study using ice cores drilled in west Antarctica found the same thing as his paper. And recent satellite data also confirms what this paper has found, Steig added.

As Prometheus (the Science blog at the University of Colarado) points out,

two of its authors (one is Michael Mann from the Real Climate blog) argue that this refutes the skeptics and is “consistent with” greenhouse warming.... Of course, not long ago we learned from Real Climate that a cooling Antarctica was “consistent with” greenhouse warming and thus the skeptics were wrong:

So something proves a hypothesis, and so does the opposite. Logic is a wonderful thing isn't it.

Croatian entry just got a little bit closer

So it appears at least for this call from the Commission's employment office,

CAST Croatia 2009
Brussels, 21 January 2009
A new Call for expression of interest for contract agents having Croatian citizenship and interested in working in the European Institutions (EPSO/CAST/CRO/2009) was published on 21/01/2009. The deadline for registration is 19/02/2009 at 12H00 Brussels time.

Double take

I certainly spilt my coffee when this magazine popped out of its envelope this morning. Surely they coyuldn't be suggesting....

So Mr Clark, can you answer these questions honestly?

Mark Mardell has posed a few questions for Ken Clarke onhis return to the shadow cabinet. Methinks it will be a case of wriggle wriggle. Is there any point in roping a big beast to the plough, if the big beast is pulling in the wrong direction?

1) Does he still believe Britain should join the euro?

2) Does he at least agree with the economists who last week argued that there should be a new debate about it?

3) Does he agree with the current Conservative policy that, as the Lisbon reform treaty has not been backed by Irish voters, there should be a referendum in Britain too?

4) Does he think this (leaving the EPP) is a sensible move because the Conservative Party has a different vision of Europe to the parties of Sarkozy and Merkel or does he support those Tory MEPs who want to stick in the EEP?

5) As shadow business secretary does he think it is right to pull out of such EU directives and how easy would it be in practical terms?

Interesting set of questions, and ones that need answering. But I suspect that all that will come is fudge and that famous humerous harumpf.

Satire at the BBC

BBC goes with a straight face, and when they are good they are very, very good.

The head of the World Meteorological Organisation has said that global warming does not mean the end of snow.

Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, stressed that Europe's current harsh winter could not hide the fact of a rise in global temperatures.

He added that this would lead to snow and cold winters becoming more infrequent, but they would not disappear.

SEE ALSO
France hit by heavy snow storms(01.24)
Ice storm turns off US power(01.14)
Cold snap continues across UK(02.12)
Woman survives prolonged snow ordeal(01.05)

Thank you Mr North

"Global Warming may be acceptable"

Is the rather bold statement from Willem P. Nel and Christopher J. Cooper in the January edition of Energy Policy. The full comment is this,

Our analysis proposes that the extent of Global Warming may be acceptable and preferable compared to the socio-economic consequences of not exploiting fossil fuel reserves to their full technical potential.

Which is pretty much where I stand on the issue.

A quiet moment

Grand Place, Brussels: A quiet moment this morning waiting for the bus

Who would have guessed it?

Well blimey, you could knock me down with a feather. I have feeling it also kills other things too.

So what is happening at school these days

I was looking at a school website this morning and wondered, what the hell is going on here?


The school swears that they are testing how far down a paper road a single breath down a tube can push a ping pong ball.... but I am not so sure.

Clarke joins front bench, Tories start to join UKIP

Today I get this from Mike Nattrasss, UKIP's MEP for the West MIdlands,

KIP is gaining members because of Ken Clarke's return to the Tory front bench. "Clarke's views on Europe are so out of line with the bulk of the Tory Party membership that they simply cannot stand being in the same party any more." said Nigel Farage, UKIP leader.

Mike Nattrass, UKIP MEP for the West Midlands said "Only UKIP is firmly committed to leaving the EU so that we can be free and independent once again." "Tory MEPs consistently transfer power to the EU and that Tory policy is confirmed by Clark's return."

The first defector in the West Midlands is Denis Allen. A former Mayor of Wellington, a town councillor in Wellington, a councillor on Telford and Wrekin Unitary Authority and former cabinet member there. Denis has also been the Chairman of the Wrekin Conservative Association. After service as an officer in the RAF Regiment Mr. Allen went on to become a Lt. Colonel in the Light Infantry TA.

"I was already uncomfortable with the way that David Cameron fudged the issue of the Conservative membership of the EPP group in the European Parliament. But the appointment of such a strong europhile like Ken Clarke to the front bench was the last straw. We can see that we can't negotiate from within: they ignored the Dutch and the French referendums and they're ignoring the Irish now. We have to leave so that we can rule ourselves." said Denis Allen. "That's why I joined UKIP, the only party advocating that Britain should be ruled by the British."

Mike Nattrass added " Tory MEPs put their Group allowances into the "Yes" campaign and that says it all."

And some Ken Clarke quotations

During the 2003 leadership Campaign,

"I have to decide whether a parliamentary party that has just fought a fanatic Eurosceptic campaign and been defeated is yet really capable of being led by a pro-European.

On leadership of the Tories

"I would have liked to be the leader of the Conservative Party and I still would. But I've run twice and I can't see another opportunity coming up in the future."

On Tory EU Scepticism

"Yes, well the party is Eurosceptic but I am glad to say it has become moderate Euroscepticism now, we no longer have the extreme right wing nationalism that we went into before the last two elections but it is still a Eurosceptic party and I’m not a Eurosceptic."

On Tax Cuts

“David and George have made us look like a potentially governing party again but the message has not quite spread to some of my colleagues. These are the people who think you've got to promise tax cuts to win any election. We've fought elections on tax cuts when you can't afford them and usually we've lost - we did actually win one in 1992, which was a considerable embarrassment to me when I was Chancellor because there wasn't the slightest chance of any tax cuts.”

On the EU Constitution

"This is a complicated area and I do not regard the EU Constitution as a completely suitable subject for a referendum"

On Referenda
"I disapprove of a referendum. I do think it is a serious blow to the sovereignty of Parliament. MPs are elected to give line-by-line detailed scrutiny to documents of this kind."
"[holding a referendum] is appalling and irresponsible. Rupert Murdoch will decide what Britain should think and what Britain should be told."

The Czechs strike again

This time it is civil liberties,

The Czech EU presidency has set a deadline of the end of June to either go ahead or scrap a multi-million-euro security database upgrade to the bloc's border-free area due to technical difficulties and delays.
The Schengen Information System II (SIS II) was supposed to be up and running by 2007 and interconnect comprehensive passport and police databases from all 25 members of the Schengen border-free area.

For anybody interested in civil liberties this has to be a good thing. However the Czechs just don't seem to understand the 'Community method' do they. They turn up, look at a dossier, see that it is running years behind schedule and millions over budget and say.
"This doesn't work. Lets scrap it".

Whereas seasoned Community types take a very different view. Here is convicted felon and EU Justice commissar Jaques Barrot's take,

"It's true that there is a bit of a delay, but we'll fix a schedule and we'll stick to it," EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot said.

And it will be up and running when Galileo is operational.

Of courtse the day before the Council meting, MEPs showed that they are fully attuned to the realities by voting 594-51 in favour of,

the introduction of biometric passports throughout the EU later this year

Timothy Kirkhope : Sleazebuster

Or at least that is how he must have described himself to BBC online journo, Brian Wheeler. Because we are informed,

"Conservative group leader Timothy Kirkhope was brought in to clean up his party's expenses regime in Brussels and Strasbourg. He winced every time I used the phrase "gravy train".

Even his own press office will find it hard not to stifle a chortle about that.

Fiddling while Riga burns

Valdis Zatlers, the Latvian President enjoyed himself at the European Parliament yesterday, where he spoke to a formal session.

"In 2009 we will be celebrating 5 years of membership of the European Union".

Yeah, but back in Riga the riot police are having to deal with thousands of demonstrators,

"With a growing lack of confidence in the government´s ability to manage the economic crisis as a backdrop, 10 000 people met in Riga´s Old Town main square to request more consultation with civil society, a "dissolution of the Saeima" and new elections. The demonstration was organized by two political parties ("Society for Another Politics" and "All for Latvia", EP- unaffiliated) and 23 NGOs. It was also supported by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers´ Party (PES) and Concord Centre (EP-unaffiliated), Latvia´s most popular party in recent polls. At the end of the demonstration a crowd, estimated near 1000 descended on the national parliament and also broke windows.

The Government is now planning how to utilise the €7 billion IMF/EC loan to Latvia. Reductions in government employee salaries, higher VAT and excise taxes and a commitment to the IMF are the factors leading to the demonstratioon".

And the fool wants to jointhe Euro as soon as possible. There are none so blind as will not see.

Reported to the authorities

Astonishing answer to a Paliamentary Question from Syed Kamall,

Subject: Channel tunnel customs

A constituent has contacted me to express his concern about an experience he had
whilst returning to the UK at the Channel Tunnel customs.

He claims that, while at customs, his coach party was detained by customs for an extensive search which lasted around two hours and 30 minutes. He says that everyone on the coach was questioned about their purchases in France and that the questions were intrusive. For example, he says that he was asked how many cigarettes he smoked, how many cigarettes he rolled from each pouch of tobacco, how much he drank and how many pouches he used a week.

He claims that the coach driver said that HM Revenue and Customs are targeting a group of coach companies which regularly take coaches to Belgium for shopping trips in an attempt to put them out of business, in order to save the Treasury money from inflated tobacco prices in the UK. He believes that this anti-competitive action should be seen as illegal and against the single market ethos, under EC law.

Does the Commission consider such alleged over-zealous controls on the border to be a breach of the internal market? If so, what action does the Commission plan to
take against the UK Government to ensure proper operation of the single market?

This in itself is worrying.

But the answer is even more so,

...the UK authorities have instituted and encouraged a cooperative approach. In order to render the border controls less burdensome for passengers and to avoid situations described by the Honourable Member, owners of coach businesses are encouraged to meet with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) managers and subsequently to provide, before each trip departs from the UK, a list of passengers which may assist with identifying recidivists or other individuals to whom the Border Force would like to speak. The resultant improved targeting allows delays to be reduced through reducing the number of passengers whose journey will be interrupted. Many UK companies have availed of the opportunity to cooperate in this way.

So run that one past me again. Customs and Revenue are getting private companies to report on their clients for possible breach of import duty rules. This is very much the sort of activity encouraged by the former Soviet block. The political elite and their fellow travellers it seems will not stop until we all inform on each other.

What's the betting that the HMRC has put pressure (encouragement) on the companies to disclose what must be private information?

How to advertise White Goods

I am astounded that adverts like these are still allowed.

Astounded but quietly pleased.

I raise my glass to you

This is the Sir Dai Llewellyn as I remember him.

God speed fine fellow

They were always arrogant, anti-democratic swine

David Marquand has, in this article from last June really put his finger on the way in which Europe works. Of course he thinks that it is a good idea,

"the statesmen who launched the European project 50 years ago were taking immense political risks, and that if they had submitted their project to a referendum, it might well have been defeated. In France, the Communists and Gaullists were hostile; in Germany, the Social Democrats were at most ambivalent. The founding fathers - Konrad Adenauer, Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak, Alcide de Gasperi and Jean Monnet - did not follow existing public opinion. They dared to create a new one".

So why celebrate the 10th Anniversary

And the bond gap is still growing.

A second term for Cathy

Tonight was the UKRep (the UK representative office to Europe, otherwise the British Embassy to the EU) Christmas party. They apologised for the lack of mince pies.

But what was interesting was the speech by Baroness Ashton, the British Commissioner replacement for Peter Mandelson.

"For those of you retireing... I miss you already. For those of you standing again. I hope to be working with you for this year, and many years in the future".

She really does want to keep her job past the end of this Commission.

Cathy is talking to Richard Ashworth- Tory MEP for the South East)

Beazley is at it again

Christopher Beazley the Conservative MEP today twice showed his true colours over the European Union. He had discovered that his voting machine had broken down in the Strasbourg plenary and stood up to complain.

He informed the President of the Parliament that he didn't really need to fix his machine,

"as I plan to vote Yes to everything".

This hardly a suprise from Beazley as he has form here, but where is the party disciplinary procedure. This has got to be going against official Tory policy. If so, remove the whip, if not, then be honest about and stop trying to wrap yourselves in Eurosceptic colours like the boy Dave did this morning in the FT.

David Cameron, leader of Britain's opposition Conservatives, has vowed to wreck the EU's Lisbon treaty if he emerges victorious from any early general election in the first half of this year.

Mr Cameron has put the Tories on election alert, believing there is a 50/50 chance Gordon Brown, prime minister, will go to the polls in 2009, cashing in on public support for his handling of the recession.

The Tory leader believes there could be an election as early as April - more than a year before the last possible election date of June 2010 - opening up the opportunity for him to derail the EU's flagship treaty.

Mr Cameron told the Financial Times that in such circumstances "we could have a referendum in October" on the treaty, in which he would lead the campaign for a No vote. The "moderately eurosceptic" Tory leader expects to win that vote.

Nail your colours to the mast why don't you? And you wish to take the political leadership of our fine country. You do not deserve to take the leadership of the Witney Boy Scouts.

Not only that Mr Beazley also challenged all comers to a five Euro bet that the next Conservative Government in Britian would introduce the Euro.

I for one won't be takling him up on his bet. Believing him right.

Update
Mr Beazley has made YouTube

Smoking makes you go mad!!!

This is from the Scottish Executive's consultation on,

"Achieving smoke-free mental health services in Scotland"

It is always good I think to have your desired result in the title of the consultation document, don't you? It saves us the bother of thinking for ourselves. Anyhow here are some of the findings. I have highlighted the bit that has made my eyes pop out.

Links between smoking and mental health problems
• People with mental health problems are more likely to smoke, and to smoke more heavily.
• This is true of people living in the community, but the trend is much more marked among people living in mental health units.
• Studies have shown significantly higher levels of heart disease and breathing conditions among people with mental health problems, likely to be caused by their
smoking.
• It is not yet clear why people with mental health problems smoke more. For some, smoking may play a role in the development of the illness. It is also possible that some people smoke to self-medicate, or to help counter side-effects of their medication.

That is one of the more mendacious findings. Go on, read the whole thing. Methinks it is likely to cause huge problems in the short to medium term. Anything up to the tragic death of a psychaitric worker. I pray this does not happen, but I would give prety short odds on trouble.

Graham Watson = James Bond

I kid you not...

Hubris calling Watson... Hubris calling Watson

Oh what a bouffant buffoon Graham 'Toady' Watson is. The leader of the Liberal Democrat Group (ALDE). He has launched his election campaign as the next President of the European Parliament.

There are a few small problems with this.

Firstly he launched it on Euronews - hardly somewhere where he will be noticed.

Second, he is fibbing when he claims that this is the,

"first ever public campaign for the presidency".

Nope that would be the campaign of Jens-Peter Bonde last time round. The 'Fair Chair' campaign was specifically a public campaign.

Then there is the fact that he will not have the support of either the socialist group or the EPP. Leaving him writing begging letters to UKIP MEPs for support. Now given that he says on his campaign website,

"If elected, I will work with MEPs of all persuasions and with Council and Commission for a stronger European Union. The ideal of a united Europe is under attack and I intend to lead a counter-offensive. "

I suspect that the letters to the Ind/Dem Group are, at best, a waste of paper.

But most importantly he hasn't been elected yet. His seat hangs in the balance if the results of the opinion poll in the Sunday Telegraph are anything to go by. To win a seat in the South West, where he pretends to be based requires about 15%. The poll has the Lib/Dems at 14%.

So he spending a whole bunch of money on a website based in Texas (bought on December 2nd) to run for a campaign he has a very real chance of being unable to prosecute due to not being elected as an MEP, let alone President of Parliament. He is playing a very dangerous and hubristic game here.

Update

I pottered along to Watson's section of YouTube and noticed that the last 17 weekly podcasts have average viewing figures of 37 views.

Given that many will be from his own office... well it doesn't bode well does it?

Is Putin the Green's poster boy

Those cheery chappies over at the Competitive Enterprise Institute have noticed an interesting thing about Putin's gas shenanigans with Ukraine. He is of course helping drive down the usage of energy in Europe, a goal so beloved of the green wallas.

Chevron have been running a campaign wearing their Corporate Social Responsibility hat, called 'Use Less Energy'.

I will use less energy And we will too.
The world demands more and more energy. Where will it come from?
We at Chevron are working to provide more of it, both responsibly and efficiently. And we're developing alternatives.
But it's just as important for all of us to do more with less.

So should Putin be Chevron's poster boy?

Gis' a clue

It appears that Hans-Gert Pöttering has dipped into one of those bags of fridge magnets, labelled, 'portentous sounding words' for part of his speach on the Gaza situation today,

"As responsible politicians we must contribute resolutely to a lasting exit from the spiralling violence," he concluded.

Meaning what precisely?

Slightly off note in time for the Euro celebrations.

In a surprisingly candid moment, Jean-Claude Junker, PM of Luxembourg and hyper euro-elite member talks about the Euro in the Figaro,

"Il est vrai que dix ans après l'introduction de l'euro on constate que cette zone euro présente un point faible : son faible potentiel de croissance".

Or in my cod translation,
"It is true that ten years after the introduction of the Euro we are aware thta the Eurozone has a weakness: its weak growth potential".

Given that tomorrow we are going to experience the horros of a full formal sitting and solemn celebration of the anniversary this is tantamount to blasphemy. Particularly given he is a speaker,

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Euro
Plenary Session, Strasbourg - 13 January 2009

9h55 - 10h00: Photo opportunity, Protocol Room

10h00 - 11h15: Official ceremony in the hemicycle
Historical video
Opening speech by President Hans-Gert Pöttering
Guest speakers:
Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Eurogroup
Joaquín Almunia, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs
Concluding remarks and vote of thanks by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, former President of the French Republic
Debate with the participation of Pervenche Berès, Chairwoman of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs,
Werner Langen, co-rapporteur on the report on "The first ten years of Economic and Monetary Union and Future challenges", and the representatives of the political groups

European Hymn
11h30 - 13h00:
Colloquium on the "Role of the Euro in managing the economic and financial crisis"

chaired by Pervenche Berès, Chairwoman of the Committee on Economic
and Monetary Affairs, Room Winston Churchill
Invitees and guests speakers:
Joaquín Almunia, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs
José María Gil-Robles, former President of European Parliament
Karl von Wogau, MEP, former Chairman of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Christa Randzio Plath, former Chairwoman of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Jesús Martínez de Rioja Vázquez, director of the economic newspaper "Expansión", (Spain)
Isabelle Couet, Markets service of "Les Echos" (France)
Carlo Bastasin, editor of the economic newspaper "Il Sole 24 ore" (Italy)
Milan Buno, editor of foreign-economic department of Radio Slovensko (Slovakia)
John Thornhill, editor of the Europe edition of the "Financial Times", (United Kingdom)

This bottom lot are the 'grand plumes', the media, bought and sold.

Lesson for Ireland: How a No becomes a Yes

It was a cold night at the European Parliament. In the dark some shadowy figures were hard at work. Passers by looked and hurried on, their faces wrapped in scarves as they fought to keep out the cold. But on the shadowy figures worked.

At last they stopped, and one of their number entered the Parliament with a camera. What dastardly deed had been commissioned? Quickly he worked, for by this time a posse of Security men had fanned out to find him. Dashing hither and thither around the Parliament they searched. But not in time. As the perpetrator sashayed out of the building one rather short and rotund uniformed flunky called him over.

"What is your name?"
"Good evening"
"What is you name?"
"And a happy New Year"
"Show me your ID!"
"OK, if you must"

His name now entered into the Parliamentary book of shame he was let out. Beer beckoned.

By the next morning a mysterious change had occured to the sacred text. The NO had been altered to a YES by some sleight of hand. Could this a preperation for the Irish? Is this the way it will be done? Underhand, in the glowing dawn?

OK, well it was silly in the first place, but the attempt to change it just makes it better.

A New dawn for Human Rights

Further to my post below about the European History program, I found myself flicking through the "Connecting Europe Through History" booklet. And was surprised to discover on page 4 a picture of the storming of the Bastille.

It wasn't this picture but one like it. Anyhow what took me by surprise was how it had been captioned,

"Storming the Bastille: 1789 was a turning point in establishing human rights in Europe"

Well I suppose you could say that. It was the precursor to all the ghastly ideological regieme's who have murdered millions in the name of ideology. The "Quartering of the Vendee" was the first time that a form of genocide was practicsed against a largely civilian population because they rejected a political ideology,

"Infernal columns After Savenay, Rochejaquelein and Stofflet, which managed to cross the the Loire, are joined by a few thousands of survivors. On its side, Cart, which did not take share with the “Virée of Galerne”, holds the Breton Marais. In front of the return of a guerilla warfare and knacks, Blue, exasperated, same those originating in the departments concerned, claim the execution of the decree of the 1793 on the “destruction of the Vendée”. Named general-in-chief of the Armed with the West, although noble, the general Turreau proposes a plan of columns flamers, baptized the “infernal Colonnes”, with the Comité of public Safety, which does not give him the full power that he hopes for, being satisfied to invite it to carry out the decisions of the Convention by respecting “the spirit and the terms” of his Décret S.

The February 17th, the plan is put at execution, with two armies divided each one into six columns, leaving one the west, the other of the east. However, all the chiefs of the columns did not apply the orders of destruction and systematic slaughters. In the same way, the Members of the Commission civil and administrative created with Nantes to recover vivres and cattle with the profit of the Blue ones, accompany the armies, which makes it possible to save lives and localities. Certain columns, on the other hand, are delivered to plundering and massacre the civil population, raping and torturing, killing women and children with the knife not to waste the powder, burning Village S entireties, destroying harvests and killing the cattle. Well far from making disappear the revolt, the more so as out of the Vendean patriots are killed very as much as insurrectionists, the columns make flee the population (see the refugees ,
hereafter). Some leave the department, but several thousands join the bands of
Cart and Stofflet, intensifying the Guérilla, which becomes crueler than ever. This period also sees the return of practices related to the violence of Ancien Mode: “on decision of a military commission, heads of some Vendean and chouans notable, of which that of the prince de Talmond, are same exposed after decapitation to terrify the public. ”

Estimates of the dead range from 120,000 to 600,000.

Yes they are right. I suppose it did usher in a new era of human rights in Europe.

Bastards.

Who said the Germans were Barbarian's?

One of my little pet hates about the European Union is how it is slowly trying to rewrite history to its own benefit. We have the President of the Parliament's own little vanity project, the European House of History, which Bruno Waterfield Telegraph, and we have the Euro Clio project, with its slightly sinister subset Conecting Europe.

Education policies and regulations are commonly decided by national governments. In history this results in a focus that is very nationally oriented. Research by EUROCLIO confirms that the national dimension in history education is overrepresented, whereas the regional, European and international dimensions are underrepresented.
The disadvantage of a dominantly national approach is a distortion in historical events. The EUROCLIO Annual Meetings have always been a way to increase the European Dimension.
History educators from all over Europe have addressed a variety of topics and good practice that broadened their perspectives. Furthermore, EUROCLIO uses of trainers from a variety of European countries and beyond it all its project work. This transnational cooperation also increases the European dimension of history education and reduces the risk of a national bias in the developed material.

You get the idea.

Anyhow my favourite European history project is the Franco-German textbook, whose lead author Professor Marcel Spisser - an Alsatian Frenchman spoke at a conference in Brussels yesterday about the troubles they had getting the academics to agree...

"There was a big clash at the first meeting (of the editorial team of academics) a content problem. Was it the Versailles Treaty or international relations post 1945?

No it wasn't about that at all, it was about the barbarian invasions.

"Barbarians - Are you calling the Germans Barbarians!!!"."

It appears that in Germany the waves of Goths, Visigoths, Vandals and not least Huns are referred to as 'the movement of peoples'.

Odd where the Government gets their ideas from

The latest statement about personal tax allowances by gordon Brown have a ring odf familiarity about them,

Tax allowance 'may rise to £10,000'
Gordon Brown is considering raising the tax-free allowance to £10,000 as part of measures to help families struggling with the credit crunch, a close ally has claimed.

John McFall, chairman of the influential Commons Treasury committee, said he knows the move - which would effectively exempt millions of low-paid workers from income tax - is "in the Prime Minister's mind".

Currently workers do not pay any tax on the first £6,035 they earn.

But Labour MP Mr McFall called for that figure to be raised significantly.

"We should put money into the pocket of those with the lowest incomes.

"These are the people who most need our support," he told a newspaper.

"This would also be a fiscal stimulus since this group is most likely to spend rather than save."

Upping the limit would also benefit those earning more, because they too would only start paying basic rate tax at £10,000, he added.

Now where have I heard something very similar to that before? Oh I know, the UKIP tax policy,

Make all taxpayers better off (mostly by £1,100 per year) and take a further 4.5 million lower paid out of income tax altogether - by raising the tax-free personal allowance to £9,000

Global Warming hits EU Parliament

Feeling all toasty and warm in Place Luxembourg

The Anti Smoking Crusade gets more sinister

I missed this yesterday, and so you have a delayed rant on your hands. Now I am no great whole hearted bveliever that the NHS is the world's greatest health care system, far from it, but until it is reformed properly then it must remain as it is, with equal access judged by a clinical assesment of need.

The statement by Gordon Brown about a proposed NHS Constitution is distinctly scary. (He has a thing about getting constitutions through the Parliament doesn't he, bet we don't get a referendum on this one either).

"We will also examine how all these changes can be enshrined in a new constitution of the NHS, setting out for the first time the rights and responsibilities associated with an entitlement to NHS care."

Er if a taxpaying subject of Her Majesty has an illness, they, having paid for the service are entitled to it. That's it.

But no, if your lifestyle isn't up to the bureacratic model of morality then you may find treatment withheld. Who the blue-bottomed, endogennous, scrapie-ridden, cycolpean son of the manse does he think he is? First it is smokers and fatties who get written off, then drinkers. Maybe car drivers will find a hike in their tax bills, who knows?

What happens when somebody - like those chaps who fought against their DNA being kept on the national database despite not being found guilty of anything - takes HMG - or more likely their local NHS truist to the ECHR on basic equality grounds? Or does Mr Hauptbefehlsleiter Brown feel that smokers and fatties are indeed lesser beings, not indeed equal in moral terms to the pure ones, those who go to gyms and eat bran flakes.

Meanwhile we discover that, surprise surprise the Government has been loading the dice about its health consultations into - you guessed it, smoking and alcohol. Yes they have been fixing the figures by funding oprganisations to tell it what it wants to hear in order for it to announce that it is doing what the public wants. (and I wonder where it learnt that tactic)

Do they think we are all utterly thick, do they think that we will forever sit on our fat backsides (stuffed to the sphincter with fast food) and not respond. I hope so because they will get one bloody great surprise very soon.

Watch those windfarms generate energy

Or more to the point watch them fail to generate energy due to lack of wind in the high pressure zone that has brought the cold snap. Effective use of subsidy pounds isn't it?

Are you an extremist?

The Met Police have set up a website to encourage people to report extremists. Better still they have taken out a Google advert to encourage people to report, specifically "Right Wing Extremists". Better still if you type Left Wing Extremist into Google the same advert comes up singling out Right Wingers.

When you visit the Met's site you get a list of suspicious activities,

Van – Terrorists need transport. If you work in commercial vehicle hire or sales, has a sale or rental made you suspicious?

This year I have twice hired vans...

Passport – Terrorists use multiple identities. Do you know someone with documents in different names for no obvious reason?

I posess Id documentation in different names, due to bureacratic cock-up, and haven't dealt with it due to amusement.

Mobile phone – Terrorists need communication. Anonymous, pay-as-you-go and stolen mobiles are typical. Have you seen someone with large quantities of mobile phones? Has it made you suspicious?

I must have about seven or eight mobile phones hanging around the house due to various reasons, I even have a range of numbers - some anonymous, some pay as you go, from different countries.

Camera – Terrorists need information. Observation and surveillance help terrorists plan attacks. Have you seen anyone taking pictures of security arrangements?

I illustrate this blog with some photos I have taken in the last year of a security installation.

Chemicals – Do you know someone buying large or unusual quantities of chemicals for no obvious reason?

I recently bought a chemistry set as a present.

Mask and goggles – Terrorists use protective equipment. Handling chemicals is dangerous. Maybe you’ve seen goggles or masks dumped somewhere.

It had goggles in it.

Credit card – Terrorists need funding. Cheque and credit card fraud are ways terrorists generate cash. Have you seen any suspicious transactions?

I do hope nobody has access to my credit card slips, I wopuldn't remember what half of them were for.

Computer – Terrorists use computers. Do you know someone who visits terrorist-related websites?

How would anybody know what websites I had been visiting on my lap-top, but oddly enough yes, if you look in my cache there would no doubt be a few that might cause raised eyebrows.

Suitcase – Terrorists need to travel. Meetings training and planning can take place anywhere. Do you know someone who travels but is vague about where they are going?

Yup, oddly enough I have a number of suitcases, none tagged with my name. Only last weekend I was so vague about my travel arrangements I ended up in the wrong country.

Padlock – Terrorists need storage. Lock-ups, garages and sheds can all be used by terrorists to store equipment. Are you suspicious of anyone renting a commercial property?

Dammit, I have bought a number of padlocks over the last twelve month, and am in possesion of a large lock up garage.

So ladies and gentlemen, can I suggest that you all report me for the obvious terrorist I am, or conversly go and report yourselves.

Hat Tip Facebook Group - Lets Report Ourselves as Right Wing Extremists

Serious, but silly

Do come along to the Conference on the 27th-28th January to hear some of the simple, and verifiable scientific facts that undermine the Passive Smoking Consensus. This is not a workers health issue - it is a state control issue.